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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Milo Cupcakes with Condensed Milk Buttercream Frosting

My mum gives me Milo to go, and go, and go - I remember my daughters returning from a trip to Australia and singing this slogan for a popular Milo commercial upon their return. I grew up in Australia drinking Milo, so I thought it was kind of cute that my American-raised daughters would be singing along to such and iconic Australian product - Aussie accents and all.

Milo is a chocolate and malt powder that can be mixed into milk or water (either hot or cold) to make a delicious drink, although my favorite use for it as a kid was to sprinkle it over vanilla ice cream. It is quite granular and does not completely dissolve if mixed with a cold liquid, which gives you these little crunchy bits in your drink. It was developed in Australia in the 1930's to help combat childhood dietary deficiencies during the depression, and remains popular today.

My favorite Milo - with extra malt.

I don't know about your pantry, but mine always seems to be overflowing with items that I purchased for a recipe and either forgot about, or didn't use completely. Hoarding also became something of a habit whilst living in Guam because I never knew when the next shipment of an item would arrive, so I tended to purchase multiples of everything. Anyway, I noticed the tin of Milo in the back of a cupboard and thought that it would be great in a cupcake. Well, actually I made myself a glass of milk and Milo first, and then thought about the cupcakes. A search for a recipe led me to Raspberri Cupcakes, and the idea grew from there. I had a favorite chocolate cake already, but I loved the idea of condensed milk buttercream frosting.

These really are delicious cupcakes and I loved them even without the frosting. The Milo adds a really nice chocolate-malt flavor to the cupcakes, and I loved the crunch on the top of the frosting. I realize that Milo is not readily available in the US, although you can buy it on Amazon, so I would suggest Ovaltine as a substitute.